There Are 3 Main Theories That Explain Trump’s Approach to Putin and Russia — But Which One Makes the Most Sense?

There are three general theories to explain Trump’s behavior toward Russia (and other hard-right broadly autocratic regimes), and for unknown reasons the two most likely ones are almost entirely absent from our electronic media. The three theories, in ascending order of likelihood, are:

The Manchurian Candidate: He’s being blackmailed or has been a Russian asset for years.

The Wannabe Dictator: He believes that countries should be run like companies—essentially autocracies.

The Deadbeat: He’s not only not rich, but he’s badly in debt, and Russian billionaires are among his main creditors.